Home Run Derby

Six years after a salary strike between millionaire players and billionaire owners tainted “the people’s game,” Major League Baseball, New York City, is once again swinging for the fences, having won back its audience and consequently, its sponsorship dollars.

That’s good news at a time when the league has to worry about more than just rival sports leagues. “Our competition is no longer just the NFL or the NBA; it’s MTV and Six Flags,” says John Brody, director of corporate sales and marketing at MLB. “There are so many entertainment options out there today.”

Some observers say baseball still has a ways to go. “It’s definitely popular and it’s doing better than it has in the recent past,” says Bill Chipps, senior editor at IEG Sponsorship Report, Chicago. “But baseball is still in the shadow of the NBA.”

Not during the summer, however. The NBA (and NHL) playoffs end in June, giving baseball a full two-month window as the only professional game in town. “We own the summer,” says Brody.

And for many brands, that’s a peak sales season. “It’s a summer game, and that’s a prime time for soft drinks,” says Chris Jagis, senior marketing manager for sports at Pepsi-Cola Co., which is in its fifth year as a sponsor. For 2001, Purchase, NY-based Pepsi is running a Grand Slam instant-win game under the cap of 20-ounce and one-liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, and Lipton Brisk with a $100,000 grand prize. Additional prizes include trips to the World Series and All-Star Game, autographed merchandise, team hats, discounts at Foot Locker, New York City, and free product. A separate Pepsi All-Star Challenge P-O-P effort employs stars Ken Griffey Jr. and Jason Giambi on displays to pitch an SLO for All-Star Game practice shirts. TLP, Inc., Dallas, handles for Pepsi.

Summer works for stronger refreshment as well. “The biggest draw for us as a beer company is the season,” says Steve Uline, group director of sports marketing at Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis. “Memorial Day to Labor Day is our prime selling period.” Anheuser-Busch has owned the St. Louis Cardinals since 1953, but only began capitalizing on its sponsorship status 10 years ago.

“We used to do a lot of short-term programs and one-night giveaways,” says Uline, noting that the current plan calls for three programs: one covering the entire season, one around the All-Star Game, and one at season’s end.

The current Longball Challenge is a grassroots arcade-style game that backs the Budweiser brand’s role as “Official Beer.” In 16 cities in the East and Midwest, competitions are held Tuesday through Saturday in participating bars and restaurants, pitting two-man teams against each other. Ten teams in each market win a “ballpark experience” including a tour, batting practice with players, and a barbecue with team officials and former jocks. A sweeps overlay offers a trip for two to the July 10 All-Star Game in Seattle.

Of course, the fact that the full baseball calendar runs from February through October is another major draw for partners. “We like the fact that baseball gives you almost a full year to work with,” says Bob Cramer, vp-global sponsorship & event marketing at MasterCard International, Purchase, NY.

Paring Down the Lineup

The league credits part of its promotional resurgence to a concerted effort to become more selective about partners. “We used to have sponsors, promotional partners, All-Star partners, World Series partners — you name it,” says Brody, “We used to call anyone who wanted to invest in Major League Baseball a partner.”

Recognizing that the profligate policy cheapened sponsorships, the league today focuses on partners who want more than World Series tickets. “In the last few years, we’ve tried to whittle down the number of advertisers we work with to eliminate the low-hanging fruit,” adds Brody. “We’ve even asked some partners [who weren’t willing to fully commit] not to renew.”

The league currently boasts 17 “official” sponsors and three advertising partners (see box). Many sponsors augment their national programs by striking deals with local teams. Purchase, NY-based MasterCard International, an MLB sponsor since 1997, has relationships with nine teams, and runs a Grand Slam Ticket program offering cardholders ticket discounts of up to 45 percent. On a national level, a July-to-October Home Game campaign offers cardholders a chance to play on their home team’s field.

Part of the renewed effort entailed finding new blood to supplement long-standing partnerships, “We’ve committed millions of dollars to go after non-traditional partners,” says Justin Johnson, MLB’s director of corporate sales and marketing. Thus, Madison, NJ-based Claritin is “official prescription allergy medication” and Fort Worth, TX-based RadioShack is “official electronics store.” “By partnering with Claritin, we’re going into doctor’s offices and targeting people we’ve never reached before,” says Johnson. “And there’s a RadioShack location four miles from every person in the U.S.”

Kraft Foods’ Post Cereals, White Plains, NY, activated its first-ever baseball sponsorship this year by offering limited-edition baseball cards inside more than 30 million boxes and using the program to launch a new Web site called Postopia.com (June PROMO).

Kids of All Ages

Also helping the resurgence has been a broadening fan base. “The younger fans are coming back,” says MasterCard’s Cramer. “The biggest appeal is the fan base,” agrees Pepsi’s Jagis. “With Major League Baseball, you can target young fans and their families, Hispanics, and women all in the same location.”

Today’s MLB provides more multicultural appeal, although the league has long benefited from its numerous Hispanic players. “RadioShack got the deal as Opening Day sponsor because [the game was held] in Puerto Rico,” says Brody. The Fort Worth, TX-based chain also signed star Alex Rodriguez to be spokesperson in Puerto Rico and the rest of the U.S.

More recently, the emergence of such stars as Japan’s Ichiro Suzuki (a member of the Seattle Mariners) and Korea’s Chan Ho Park (Los Angeles Dodgers) is bringing more Asian fans into the fold — so much so that Redmond, WA-based Nintendo has begun running its signage at Seattle’s Safeco Field in Japanese. MLB sponsor John Hancock, Boston, is considering using baseball as a platform to introduce its brand in Asia, according to Brody.

Although the game’s faces may be changing, baseball’s tradition as America’s pastime is still the prime draw for brands. Few partnerships express that tradition better than the almost century-old connection between the sport and Frito-Lay’s Cracker Jack, a brand tied so closely for so long it was immortalized in the song, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” in 1908. “Over the years we have had all kinds of baseball-themed prizes, from cards to shirt studs,” says Cracker Jack spokesperson Lisa Van Riper.

For the 2001 season, Cracker Jack is offering lenticular disks featuring team logos and fielding positions; consumers collect every infield position to win a branded baseball cap and all positions to earn a jersey. Each disk comes with a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase at Champs Sports anywhere in the U.S.

In fact, baseball is so ingrained in the American consciousness that sponsors will use it as a platform for courting the public at large rather than fans specifically: The latest flight in MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign follows two men on a journey to visit every ballpark in the country.

The old ballgame still has legs.

Features editor Matthew Kinsman will experience baseball sponsorships in action when he attends this month’s All-Star Game in Seattle.

Talkin’ Baseball